Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council has published its draft Local Plan setting out where nearly 20,000 homes, along with roads, schools and healthcare, should go across the borough over the next 18 years — and residents can have their say before the consultation closes. Check the council’s consultation portal directly for the current deadline.

Anyone living in Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council’s area could see their neighbourhood change significantly over the coming decades if the draft Local Plan is adopted. The council is required by the Government to plan for 19,746 new homes between 2024 and 2042 — roughly 1,097 a year, or about three new homes every single day. That’s not a target the council set itself; it’s a minimum figure handed down from central government, and the borough must plan to meet it.

The plan isn’t only about housing. As Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council put it directly on social media, roads, schools, health services and water all need to be considered alongside every new home built.

The council describes its approach as “Infrastructure First” — meaning that roads, school places, GP surgeries, water supply and other services must be planned and funded alongside any new development, rather than bolted on afterwards. The plan prioritises building on previously developed “brownfield” land and within existing urban areas, with the stated aim of protecting green spaces, historic areas and local character.

But the plan has attracted real concern. Residents and others who responded during the consultation process raised questions about whether roads and junctions can cope with thousands of additional homes, and whether local schools, healthcare and water infrastructure have the capacity. Green-belt protection, heritage impacts and the effect on local character were also raised repeatedly. Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council’s own later reporting acknowledged that further transport modelling, junction design and mitigation testing are still needed before the plan can move to its next stage.

The numbers reveal another pressure point. Proposed site allocations recorded in council papers could deliver 12,664 homes — leaving a surplus of just 72 dwellings above the minimum requirement at that stage. That’s an extremely thin buffer. If any of those sites stall or prove undeliverable, the borough could fall short of what the Government requires.

Supporters of the plan argue that having a borough-wide framework gives residents, developers and infrastructure providers greater certainty. New development can bring planning obligations — contributions from developers towards local roads, schools and affordable housing — that might otherwise never materialise. And for younger residents, families and lower-income households struggling to find a home in the borough, more supply could make a real difference.

The draft plan isn’t final. Once Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council has completed its consultation, the plan must go before a government-appointed planning inspector — an independent examiner who will assess whether it is legally sound before it can be formally adopted. The council alone does not have the final say.

Key information

  • The consultation on Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council’s draft Local Plan is open — the exact deadline has not been independently confirmed, so check the council’s consultation portal directly for the current deadline
  • The plan covers the period 2024 to 2042 and sets a minimum requirement of 19,746 homes
  • Residents can comment via the link shared by the council at @TMBC_Kent — search for the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council Local Plan consultation on the council’s website
  • Those near proposed allocation sites — where new housing could be built — are encouraged to check whether their area is affected before submitting comments